Short hops and hard knocks with Red Sox beat writer Ian Browne.

Rubber match

Everyone drinking caffeine in order to stay up for this big rubber match in the OC? The Red Sox have put themselves in a position where they basically have to win every series, so this game is large.

The biggest aspect of the game is Beckett. As we’ve discussed innumerable times, he needs to start pitching like the guy the Red Sox traded for instead of some shadow of his former self.

The Manny news is good, no structural damage, so all of you can exhale.

Varitek should be back by the next homestand and Wakefield made more progress today. Again, it’s imperitive that the Red Sox stay within a sniff in the standings until they get reinforcements, and perhaps they have another run in them.

I just saw aomething that really made me smile and brings thoughts of something finally starting make things gel for this team… They were actually goofing off in the dugout, just like they used to!! Papi had a beach ball and was acting the HOOPS STAR, slam dunked on Youkilis’ head, good time being had by all… Getting loose. That’s a GOOD THING!!

I hadn’t heard about a staph infection.. Thanks Ian, btw, I drank iced tea all day and had gotten plenty of caffiene (sp). Now it’s on to BudLight!
Beckett looks really good, not the Evil Josh, the good twin is pitching tonight!!

It’s time for Papa Jack to put Gabe up against the wall and give hime a good old fashioned talkin’to. 1 for 34?? I know it’s difficult to be consistant when you don’t play every day, but come on. Papa Jack needs to talk to this one!!!
So who does Tito bring in now? Does he go with Timlin again?? Anynbody but Hoolian Tavarez!!!! Senor Ex is what he should be!!

Wait let me turn the lights back on (you know how Jon-Bon was lights out) well he’s back to his old self, and hopefully will stay that way. We gained a game tonight since the Yankee’s lost, wooo hooo!!!
Beckett looked awesome and I hope the blister situation heals quickly. Timlin didn’t look bad. …And Papelbon looked awesomely terrific!! I hope we can keep this going.

Knock on wood? I just use my head!! Hey jlt.., WELCOME TO THE REDSOX BLOG!! I don’t know how much you’ve read here, but we even have regular Yankee bloggers with us (yankeevmm(vince) and yankeeindian (vik) ). Everyone here is very friendly and baseball/Sox knowledgeble. Sometimes it gets a bit heated during a Sox/Yankee series. This is the friendliest place in all of the mlb blogs. How long have you been a Sox Fan??
Again, Welcome. (in case you couldn’t tell, I’m the Welcome Wagon Hostess)

Hey Stars!!! I’m so jealous! I would be so absolutley lost if I lived near Boston… I’d be trying to get to every game. Have just THE GREATEST TIME. Tell me about it when you get back!! GO OUR SOX!!
PS.. The game that I saw against the Marlins was like watching batting practice, hope your game (s) the same, Ellen.

Im here Ellen, just got done watching the game and mooching food at a friends house. The only dampner about tonight is I knew Beckett was going to get hurt. Without control of his curveball, beckett isn’t much because any hitter can wait on and hit a fastball. He hasn’t really had that control all year because he has been worried about blisters. I think he finally said to **** with the blisters, I need to pitch like i used to, and as soon as he did it the blisters pop up. Hopefully he can tweak his grip enough to have control and avoid the blisters.

I agree with you, but he had to regain his confidence. I think it was great that Mirabelli picked up on it before Wallace or Tito, a good catcher can always tell when something is bothering his battery mate. Hopefully they got to it before it fully developed. But, God didn’t he look good tonight… And we got a game back!! I hope it’s not something to stutter the rotation!

Hope you have an awesome time out in Seattle Ryan. Are you going to all 3 games?
Nice game last night. Too bad about Beckett. Only 70 pitches through and he was looking good. I read that it isn’t a blister, but a nail digging into his skin. They say Wake might come back next week, so maybe he’d be ready by the time Beckett’s turn in the rotation is due and Josh can get an extra couple of days off. Then they can put Beckett in Kyle Snyder’s spot in the rotation. This is assuming that Beckett can’t go next time he’s due.

Papi comes through again. Alex Cora always makes something happen. 25 pitches in 3 at bats. Heck, he should hit leadoff when he plays rather than Coco.

Hopefully Manny will be back by Oakland.

Timlin looked a little shaky in the 7th but things worked out.

Hopefully Schill can be Schill tonight. It’s selfish to hope for a sweep, but that would be very big as far as the Wild Card goes. Chicago is playing Minnesota this weekend, so if Schill, Wells and Snyder can take care of business, things could be good come Monday.

Looking back, here in Seattle is where the bullpen troubles started. It’s when the Sox had a decent lead in the 7th and Delcarmen gave up the lead, Tek tied it and Timlin gave up the walkoff to Sexon.

Revenge time.

I look for 8 strong from Schill tonight. Papelbon is closing in on the rookie record for saves. Only 3 or 4 more I believe. Yes he probably would be a real good starter as well, but if the Sox can sign a quality starter in the offseason, it would be nice to have Schill, Beckett, Lester, Wake, Free agent signing, with Papelbon waiting to close the door.

We have 3 good relievers. Pap, Timlin, and Foulke. I think Foulke’s ready to pitch tonight, but I doubt Pap and Timlin are up for it. Since Schill is taking the mound, I don’t think the ‘pen will need to pitch more than 2 innings. Hopefully the Sox offense can score the typical 5 or 6 runs. Schill probably won’t let more than 2 score from the Angels side

A friend of mine mentioned to me over the weekend that she didn’t think Papi was being himself. This morning she sent me this link to an ESPN story about Papi going to a hospital last weekend. Did I miss this along with everyone else or did I miss the boat on this story ?http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2560579

The only thing predictable in baseball is that its unpredictable. We can’t be any lower after the Yanks at home, and we win 2 of 3 tough games without Manny/Loretta, with Beckett coming out of nowhere to pitch great. The Yanks lose 2 or 3 to a team that lost 11 in a row. Go figure.

Beckett pitched so well last night. Plus, he stopped Weaver in his attempt to win his first 10 decisions. Tonight we have Schill on the mound to start this series off on the right foot. Schill has been pretty much the only reliable starter we have. He can definately dominate tonight.
Julie

Someone is going to have to step it up around Big Papi. The team should be really inspired to NOT let the big man down. The sad fact is that Big Papi is not going to be pitched to unless someone else gets hot behind him… until Manny gets back. If they pitch around him, someone needs to drive in those freebies.

Saw the last two games at Angel stadium. We were seated in the Center field Pavillion area and we could see all of Beckett’s pitches. He was on his game last night. As a long time Red Sox fan, last night was fun because of the pitching. I like these types of games. Big Papi was great. I was wearing a Big Papi shirt and was taking some grief from a loud Angel fan in the next row. Then I jumped up and said this one is going out–and David hit it out. Needless to say, I got the last word.
Moving to Santa Monica–the best way to stay in touch with the Red Sox games is MLB on your computer. The sports bars here in Ca. only carry the local games and those on ESPN as scheduled. We never heard of NESEN being carried any where out here. Hope that helps.

Does everyone realize that we would be near a major celebration point if it weren’t for the ROIDS?

Babe Ruth had the “Road Home Runs” record at 32 (1927) until Roid Rage 2001 hit the theatres. Big Papi is now at 29. We’ll just have to settle for the “All Time Roid-Free Road Home Run” record… that’s good enough for me.

Man what a lineup!! Kapler hitting 6th? whats in the cool-aid terry is drinking? Not a great start, but Schill does seem to be pitchng economically. This Woods h may have good stuff, but he can’t find the plate so far, c’mon SOX!!

If my posts seem a liitle weird tonight, it’s because, the blog is blocking some stuff, like I asked why youk was out and it told me I had a spam error. Please bear with me. I have a funny feeling I know what is going on. Any what a sorry 1st and 2nd for us. LET’S GO “RIGHT SOX”, LET’S GO!!!

Kevin Youkilis will miss tonight’s game due to a stomach virus he caught from third base coach DeMarlo Hale, who caught a bug last night. Youkilis was a late arrival at the ball park today–Gordon Edes@Boston Globe

Note from cheerleader!, cheerleader is gone for the night, nasty woman taking her place. Let’s beat the Jameson oUt of Mr. O’Flaherty!! Come on DANMIT, Let’s have some hot bat action!!!! ORDER, NOT A REQUEST….. GO SOX!!!!!

lol Ellen, if the Sox don’t start a great streak soon, I think the nasty woman will overthrow the cheerleader again!

In any case, yesterday’s game was terrible… injuries just keep on kicking us when we’re down… Manny, arguably our best hitter, and Youk, our 3rd best hitter were out. I just don’t see how the Sox can win when half of their team is not playing… I think injuries have cost us at LEAST 5-8 games this year, 10 if you believe that all injuries parties could’ve contributed when at their best.

While I’m not losing faith on the 06 season, I’m beginning to feel optimistic about NEXT season, when we hopefully won’t have as many injuries to as many key players…

I think that injuries have cost us more than your estimate, if you take into consideration what a healthy Wells and Clement would have accounted for. Also Wakefield, Tek, and Trot. I’ve seen the stat regarding our relivers ERA before Tek got injured and after; big difference. The leadership that he lends to the team in invaluable as well. I hope he comes back soon, but in the same breath I hope he doesnt make himself “better” too soon, and hurt himself further.
The nasty woman might just be making a few more appearances in the next few games if things don’t change and quickly. We got lucky again last night with the Yanks losing.

Looks like we all took the day off from the blog, late nights must be getting to all of us!! I know they’re getting to me. I got up at 9:00 today, I’m never up later than 6:30-7:00, and then mowed the front lawn… harder than it is after an early game. I think that I’m going to go and try to take a cat nap now…. I’ll be back before the game.. I hope Manny is back tonight. Papi just seems more comfortable with Manny backing him up. Speaking of Papi, I’m soooo glad that his hospital trip was just fatigue and dehydration. We ABSOLUTELY CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE HIM FROM THE LINE UP.

Note to all our injured and ill, PLEASE COME BACK SOON, FEEL BETTER. Come on Trot, I miss you, you dirt dawg!!

My dad used to tell me when we were listening to or watching the Sox, when we got what looked like a break: It’s not a break unless you take advantage of it. …That is exactly what we need to do tonight. Yankees lost today, WE REALLY NEED TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS BREAK!!

I’ve been in the hospital since Thursday, thus the reason no blogging. Abdominal pain that was diagnosed as diverticulitis, which is an infection in the colon area. Not fun stuff, but I’m out and feeling better. First hospital stay in my life. Not much fun. Anyway, glad to be back watching the game!

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